Every year, there seems to be something about the Dallas Cowboys the sports media likes to sink their teeth into. Most of the time, these topics are overblown, untrue and end up annoying us Dallas fans by the time the playoffs roll around.

In 2007, the Media's point of attack was Tony Romo's relationship with Jessica Simpson, her appearance at the Philadelphia loss in December, and the criticism of his trip with her to Cabo during the top seed playoff bye. When the hot topic of the Dallas Cowboys is something this trivial, you know the team was doing well. (Coincidentally, going 13-3 in 2007.)

in 2008, the Media latched onto this idea of team chemistry and how the Cowboys lacked it. From there, it evolved into a blame game. Is Tony Romo not a strong enough leader? Is Terrell Owens a cancer to the locker room? Are Romo and Witten drawing up their own plays and leaving T.O in the dust? The overblown media speculation last year was enough to make any Cowboys fan's eyes bleed.

That brings us to 2009. Tony and Jessica are split up. Terrell Owens is in Buffalo. There will be no distraction because of Roy Williams' poor play. No criminal distractions at the hands of Pacman Jones, Tank Johnson. No perrenial whining from Greg Ellis. Even Wade Phillips has a renewed vision for this football team, emphasizing getting things "exactly right." At first glance, there doesn't seem to be much nonsense for the media to cook up this year.

But, we shouldn't be so naieve. You know as well as I do that there will be *something* that the media will find and exploit. My prediction of the 2009 Dallas Cowboys hot topic:  the "chemistry" between Tony Romo and Roy Williams.

Regardless of how good Roy Williams turns out to be, everytime he drops a pass or Romo overthrows him, you'll be able to feel collective excitement of beat writers everywhere salivating at the chance to bring up this topic at a post-game press conference. Lets face it. Williams isnt going to have 100 yards every game. He isn't Terrell Owens, but the media will expect him to be. The point of being "Romo friendly" was to spread the ball around. That means that, including Williams, Crayton, Austin, Hurd and the-unnamed-5th reciever will have improved stats this year. Not to mention more passes in the 2 Tight End set from Martellus Bennet and situations where Felix Jones may split out wide.

But the Media won't see it that way. They'll compare Williams to Owens until their blue in the face.

The remedy? Win. Just win. Even if Roy Williams, stat-wise, pales in comparison to Terrell Owens production (which he probably will.) If the Cowboys can win a play off game--just one playoff game--then Romo to Williams will go unquestioned after this season and the media will look for something else to write about.

But be prepared, Cowboys fans. Romo to Williams (and to a greater extent, the Roy Williams trade) will be poked, prodded, questioned, analayzed, re-analyzed and criticized all season.

Be ready for it, even if Williams' puts up 1000 yards and 7 TDs, because mark my words it will be this years hot, but irrelevant, topic.

Q: With the exception of the New York Giants game in week 2, the Cowboys schedule before the bye week seems (at this juncture) the easiest part of the schedule. Will the Cowboys be 5-0 going into the bye week?

A: True. I think the Cowboys have a very good chance of making a 5-0 start. Since Romo took over the helm, the Cowboys have done well in September. (5-0 in 2007, 4-1 in 2008) However, here is my justification on why 2009 could possibly be no different:

Game 1: Tampa Bay (Away)

The Buccaneers have a new head coach in Raheem Morris and Jeff Garcia has split for Oakland. My instinct is that this is a bit of a retooling year for them on offense; although their defense should remain competitive (Morris was promoted from DC in the wake of Jon Gruden). Still, they made some moves to sure up some weak points-most notably Kellen Winslow from Cleveland and Derrick Ward from New York Giants. I have my doubts that Luke McCown and/or Byron Leftwich are really going to produce for them, although Leftwich did look great last year backing up Benny Roth. I think Josh Freeman is a great prospect for the future, but I wouldn't expect him to be there in week 1.

This team won't be a push-over, by any means. They'll be harder than Game 1 last year against the Browns, but I think the Cowboys should win. The main reason, more than anything, is that they need to purge themselves of the 44-6 Philadelphia loss that clouds the 2008 season. A strong win in Tampa Bay goes a long way in doing that. As Micky Spangonla has said often at Dallascowboys.com, a win in Tampa is crucial for getting off on the right foot this season The Cowboys know that. Wade Phillips knows that. And, we know that.

Game 2: New York Giants (Home)

If there's a game to lose before the bye-week, it's this one. With the addition of Chris Canty and Rocky Bernard, the Giants have an absolutely disgusting defensive line. Their defense, in general, is respectable and I'm expecting a breakout year from Safety Kenny Phillips. Their offense though, could be a wash. Domenik Hixon or Steve Smith is essentially their most experienced wideouts. I daresay the Cowboys might have a better receiving core than the Giants at this point, although I know very little about the breakout potential of rookies Rameses Barden or Hakeem Nicks.

Divisional games are impossible to predict, especially in the NFC East. It could honestly go either way. But, consider that this will be the debut of Cowboys stadium on the national stage. I know we choked at farewell to Texas Stadium game vs. the Ravens, but I like to think the players will be excited to play in the stadium for the first time for the regular season and it will be important to christen it with a win.

Game 3: Carolina Panthers (Home)

Since John Fox has been the Head Coach of the Panthers, they have never had successive winning seasons. The Panthers were among the best teams in the NFC last year, but fell flat against the Cardinals in the divisional round. Something tells me there will be some kind of drop off with the Panthers this year, probably due to the increased competitiveness of the NFC South. Atlanta will contend. New Orleans might actually have a defense, and Tampa Bay shouldn't be ignored.

Admittedly, my familiarity with every aspect of the Panthers is sparse, but the Cowboys seem well equipped to handle their weapons. Terrance Newman seems to be at his best when hes covering wideouts like Steve Smith, and Mushin Muhammad should be relatively contained by Jenkins or Scandrick. The Panthers don't have any fantastic pass-catching tight-ends, so doing our best to shut down DeAngelo Williams while containing Smith's big play ability should go a long way in containing their offense. Their defense (ranked 12th in the league last year) should remain about the same, but I expect Julius' Peppers production to increase on account that he wants to prove hes worth every dime his agent is going to squeeze out Carolina once the season is over and Peppers is a UFA. Don't get me wrong, this is by no means and easy battle. In some ways, this game might be harder than the Giants game, it depends on a number of variables. But, I'd say the odds are in our favor.

Game 4: Denver Broncos (Away)

The Broncos have been a disaster since GM Pat Bowlen sacked Mike Shanahan, believing Belicheck disciple Josh McDaniels it's savior. I'm not so sure. McDaniels seems a little arrogant in his belief that he can plug Kyle Orton into his pass-friendly system. Distractions have run rampid, ranging from the Jay Cutler drama to Brandon Marshall whining about his contract.  On paper, the Broncos don't have a QB, RB, or defense that scares me. Kyle Orton is certainly a downgrade from Cutler, Knowshon Moreno very well may be the future of this team, but that has yet to be seen. And, even though the defense has been upgraded, additions such as Brian Dawkins shouldnt make a huge spash. (There's a reason the Eagles nixed him). However, Orton could connect very nicely with Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal (the surprise rookie from last year).

If the Cowboys lose to the Broncos, it will be self-inflicted. We are miles ahead of them in terms of talent and there is really no excuse for losing this one. This is definitely a rebuilding year for them, with a complete coaching change, new QB, mediocre and/or rookie RBs, and a defense that is suspect. I consider this game one of the shoe-ins of the season.

Game 5: Kansas City Chiefs. (Away)

This story is similar to the Broncos. New Coach, new QB, a supposedly bolstered defense and nothing but hope for the future. Todd Haley is a talented offensive mind, that much can be seen by his work not only with the Cowboys but also with the defending NFC Champions. Although Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin could make even the most mediocre offensive mind into a savant.

The Chiefs traded away their sharpest weapon in Tony Gonzalez and I'm more than dubious about the "Matt Cassel Effect." Cassel is a good player, but not nearly as good as advertised in his impressive subbing duties for Tom Brady. Know this: Randy Moss and Wes Welker could turn Ryan Leaf into Peyton Manning (Okay, maybe not that extreme, but you get my point.) Cassel is, somewhat, a product of the system in place in New England. He'll benefit from only one proven reciever in Dwayne Bowe, and virtually no one else. I'm not even going to cover their defense; some nice additions in Zach Thomas and Mike Vrabel, but these guys are getting painfully old. Tyson Jackson should be a great DE for the future, but not enough matter at this point. This game may be and even better shoe-in for the Cowboys than the Broncos. If we lose this one, there will be an obvious reason for it.

Summary:

If everyone is healthy, 3 out of these 5 games should be very winnable and the victory margin should range in the double-digits. 2 out of 5, (Giants and Panthers), will be tough contests but nothing out of the realm of possibility especially if we are injury-free and the receivers are meeting or exceeding expectations.

This isnt necessarily a prediction, but more of a speculation. I'm learning to curb my enthusiasm from last season and in doing so fully expect the Cowboys to lose at least one of these contests. However, it is not impossible for us to stroll into the bye-week undefeated.

Although the true test, as always, will be in December.